To say that surely there is better news than Claire Richards in grey skinny jeans?

[Creamtea1]

Give the girl a break! and the pictures in the mail look like they've airbrushed her bottom half to make her look bigger.

I am a size 10, there is a lady at work who is about the same size as Claire in this photo who was lamenting the other day about no longer being able to fit into a 12 and having to go up to a 14 - either I should be in a size 6 or she's lying

Call me a cynical old cow, but I'm getting a whiff of a fitness DVD at Christmas. Step (pardon the pun) 1 is always get papped looking horrendous.
I do like her though.

I agree she looks bigger than a 16, but so what? She does look happy in the photos and hopefully she really is happy all the time.

I love her hair colour!

It's a bit mean of the paper putting a photo of her 16 years ago to compare her to.

I was 18 in 1996 and was a toned and slim size 8, glossy long blonde curls, pert small boobs and a 23 inch waist.

I am now 34, a rounded size 12 with mum hair, a few lines and breasts that I am only really content with when they are tucked neatly away inside a bra.

And I don't have an eating disorder to contend with as well - surely most people change quite a bit over 16 years whether they are yo yo dieters or not.

Whatever her size, she's still way better looking than most people IMO. She has the face of a Greek goddess!

Claire is beautiful but she is fat. That outfit is hideously unflattering - unless you have very slim, long legs that skinny jeans tucked into above ankle boots look just looks shit (believe me I have tried it!).

However, I do think that she is not meant to be a 'skinny' girl, she just doesnt have that body shape. I remember watching her in videos when she was in Steps and thinking that if she wasnt in a pop group she would be a lot bigger, it was the shape of her hips and bum I think, compared to the other two girls.

I watched her when she did Lorraine's Cake Club (on maternity!) and she talking about how she had been getting a bit of abuse for doing it because she is big. And she really flippantly just said, 'yes because obviously I am going to eat all the cakes instead of judging them' and just showed that she doesnt really care. I liked her lots more after that!

No way is she a size 16. It is dangerous for it to be put out there that a size 16 looks like this. She looks more like a 20/22.

She is very attractive, no denying it. However she can not carry off skinny jeans (hey neither can i and I'm a 12-14 on the bottom half) and she is not a size 16. She must be at least a 20 in the skinny jeans picture. Either that or those jeans are even more unflattering than I first thought...

I really like claire richards and think she is a pretty lass but there is no denying she is fat its hardly news worthy though if she wants to be fat she can be fat but the fact remains that she is, i dont agree that anyone is 'not meant' be be slim claire looked fab in her younger days, medical reasons aside there is no reason for anybody to be fat except greed and lazyness the 2 reasons i myself am carrying an unwanted extra stone, not sure why people really care how big she is, yes the skinny jeans are not at all flattering on her but thats the fashion and everyone seems to be wearing them people are judged as much for wearing baggy jeans these days and seen as mum or granny clothes, im currently still stuck in 90's mode as at a 12 wont brave skinnies i wish i had her confidence tbh

Aye, she ain't no size 16. But she has a fab smile, and a great sense of humour.

I have to admit to being (secretly) slightly obsessed with Claire's weight.

That's because she's the same height as me, has the same solid frame (though I'm more of an apple shape to her pear) and she's the same age as me.

I can tell you now, that at my heaviest (post-baby) weight I was 12 stone 5 and a size 16. There is no way she 'only' weighs 12 stone-ish in that picture.

Agree, she does have an absolutely beautiful face. I remember Steps being big when I was at uni and everyone fancying Faye or LSL and I couldn't understand that.

what I find really objectionable about that article is the snidey DM 'giveth with one hand, while slapping with the other' tone that's so prevalent throughout the Sidebar of Shame - nowhere does the journalist actually say, 'Jeez, what a porker' but phrases like 'showing she's happy with her size' and 'celebrates her curves' have now come to mean exactly the opposite. She's obviously not a size 16, either - that disingenuous detail's been sneakily included to provoke a torrent of 'size 16, my arse' comments underneath.

It's particularly ironic that they go on to praise Claire Richards for standing up to 'anonymous internet bullies'... while gleefully repeating all the meanest comments. This from a paper whose bitchiest celeb pieces are often by-lined 'A Daily Mail Reporter'.

hipper - it's just churned out by online work experience kids - it's not written by journalists

I don't even think they have work experience kids. I think there's a DM Bile Generator: feed in the celeb name and let the string of 'bikini body... celebrating her curves... flaunting her post-baby body... defying critics... 'real womanly shape...' flow forth.

With special US-bias ("pose up"? obscure Kardashians?) for the burgeoning online audience.

can someone link to the pictures you're all referring to?

I can tell you now, that at my heaviest (post-baby) weight I was 12 stone 5 and a size 16. There is no way she 'only' weighs 12 stone-ish in that picture.

I second that! I'm a size 14, 5'5 and I shamefully weigh 12 stone at the moment after a break from running. Looking at that picture she is not a size 16 let alone 12 stone.

As disgusting as it is that the papers dig women out over their weight, it pisses me off that Claire lies about her weight and pretends to be happy. One minute she's weighing herself and crying about the fact she over indulges in cakes and the next she's on This Morning hunting for Britain's best cake... If this women didn't make such a big deal about her weight, it is quite possible the press wouldn't either.

I think Claire is fab - sooo much nicer than the poisonous LSL. She is fat though, no getting away from that. Luckily, she is also very pretty and can actually sing. She would look better in different clothes - skinnies are hard to carry off if you are not slim.

I'd rather be a fat Claire than a skinny Lisa!